What does Neet stand for and how many are there in the UK?

A major independent review of the reasons so many young people are not in education, work or training was released by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn in May. He was asked to look into the issue by the government.

Milburn challenged the idea that young people were not trying, or were “work-shy, snowflakes, soft”.

A survey carried out for his interim report suggested that 84% of Neet young people do want a job or training.

He said rejections for young jobseekers, after submitting dozens, sometimes hundreds of applications, had become the norm.

The report said there is not one factor causing the crisis, with a “perfect storm” of the jobs market, spending on education and the Covid pandemic being some of the reasons highlighted.

It said the number of entry-level jobs has fallen by about 1.6 million over the past 20 years. Vacancies in hospitality, for example, have halved in the last four years alone. Apprenticeships and graduate jobs have also been affected.

Health issues are also a factor. The proportion of people who say they are Neet because of a work-limiting health condition has increased by 70% over the past decade, according to the Health Foundation charity.

The number of those citing a mental health condition has almost doubled to more than four in 10, according to the Youth Futures Foundation.

Milburn described the situation for young people with disabilities as “devastating”. In 2024-2025, 29.6% of disabled young people were Neet, compared with 8.7% of their non-disabled peers, his report said.

The second part of Milburn’s report, containing recommendations, will be unveiled later in 2026.